What Your Enemy Can See
by Fianna9
Summary: for prowlxjazz challenge. Sometimes, the enemy sees more than your own faction does.
1. What Your Enemy Can See

Title: What your enemy can see

By: Fianna9

Verse: G1

Prompt: Blind

Rating: PG13

Characters: most of the Decepticon soldiers

Warnings: Cybertronian cursing, mention of het and slash and sticky interface

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. More the pity.

Summary: Sometimes, the enemy sees more than your own faction does

I don't know where this bunny came from, and I hope I got all of their personalities correct. Constructive criticism appreciated.

A/N: grounded = seeker slang for Praxian doorwing mechs (flightless descendents of seekers)

No one ever figured out who first noticed it, but everyone knew who first openly mentioned it.

Skywarp limped into the Repair Bay, being supported by Scavenger, acid scoring etched across his plating. The three large holes in his wings sparked and smoked constantly. "No fair, that glitch tracked me after I 'ported three times!"

Lying face down on the berth, unwilling to move while Hook repaired his thrusters, Dirge snapped irritably, "What'd you expect when you attacked the grounded's 'face toy? You ticked him off so much he went after all of us, Warp."

"Like I knew the grounded's wouldn't be happy to have the groundpounder off his aft." Skywarp groused as he was laid on the berth awaiting Hook's servos.

"You nanowit," Dirge grumbled. "He's fragging that aft."

"Gross," Thrust piped up from against the wall, looking disgusted at the thought. "What would a grounded see in that?"

After the Seekers brought it out in the open, the rest of the Decepticons began chiming in their thoughts about the Autobots SiC and TiC. The lower ranked Decepticon soldiers spent drunken cycle breaks arguing over whether Prowl or Jazz had started it. That the two of them had been exchanging paint since Cybertron was a given. Swindle didn't even bother trying to get odds on this having started on Earth; there was way too much evidence to the contrary. Inevitably, the "who started it" debate would degenerate into the "who's fragging who" debate.

"I'm telling you," Drag Strip sniped. "Prowl's got some major dirt and he's blackmailing the little freak. All Spec Ops have secrets they need to keep."

"No way." Thrust countered. "No grounded would willingly frag a dirtpounder if a flier was available. Jazz threatened his way into that berth. That's how he gets away with all the slag he pulls."

"You're telling me that a Spec Ops threatened the mech who plans his operations? The one who decides whether he lives or dies? Are you glitched?" Blitzwing laughed.

"There weren't any fliers in the Autobots back then." Dirge pointed out from his table. "Jazz flirts with everything that moves and had quite the rep back before the war. Prowl probably just wanted fragged and found an easy mark."

"There can't be any blackmail going on: there is no way Prime would let any Autobot blackmail anybody else." Scrapper pointed out reasonably as he grabbed an energon cube on his way through.

"Optimus Prime knows nothing." The Reflector components announced, looking up from their table. The others stared at them in suspicion; normally Reflector would never voluntarily give away information. "It is obvious."

"So Prowl could be blackmailing him. After all, Jazz plays fetch the energon for him and follows him around like a misguided toy." Wildrider spat out.

"That cold glitch wouldn't bother. You saw the old footage of him ignoring those femmes. Primus, they were hanging all over him, and he was acting like they were invisible." Motormaster sneered, glaring at Wildrider, who wilted under the gaze.

After producing a "best of" collection from all the footage that the symbionts and Reflector gathered over the vorns, Swindle got most of the bets finalized.

Soundwave, Megatron and Starscream never did voice their opinions publicly. Lazerbeak and Rumble had agreed to spill any confirmation they found to Swindle in exchange for part of the highgrade stakes.

Every Seeker except Dirge was convinced that Prowl was being blackmailed and fragged by Jazz. Dirge said that Prowl was conning Jazz and being fragged by him.

Hook's opinion was blunt when offered up with a deal for three pain free maintenance checks. "Laying on his back would damage those sensitive sensory panels; Prowl is obviously on top."

Onslaught's analysis of his rival tactician was backed by three highgrade cubes. "Prowl has obviously manipulated Jazz into thinking that it was Jazz's idea to pursue him. Prowl has total control, and the fool has yet to realize it."

When anyone asked, Astrotrain simply said, "They should both be blown up. Hey, if we kill one of them, the other dies too, right?"

Breakdown just muttered, "It doesn't matter. They're bonded, and they're going to kill all of us in a possessive frenzy soon."

The strangest part was: Swindle's biggest bets on Prowl and Jazz weren't being placed on who was dominant or who started it. The biggest bets were on when the rest of the Autobots would ever notice anything. The most common bet: Ratchet, when the two of them had a sparkling.


	2. Your Friends Can Discover

Title: Your friends can discover

By Fianna9

Sequel "What your enemy can see"

Verse: G1

Rating: PG13

Warnings: Cybertronian cursing, mention of slash and sticky interface, mpreg(in nongendered mechanical beings)

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. More the pity.

Summary: Well, they had to figure it out sometime…

It's not based on a prompt for the challenge, but the bunny really wouldn't leave me alone.

A/N: grounded = seeker slang for Praxian doorwing mechs (flightless descendents of seekers) wing-spawn = derogatory Praxian slang for seekers

For purposes of these stories, doorwing Praxians are about 17 feet tall in root form.

Thank you Darkeyes_17 for looking the first version over. I'm responsible for any mistakes. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Weird behavior was fairly typical in the asylum known as the Ark.

Hound and Trailbreaker were only happy coming back from patrol if they were filthy; Tracks and Sunstreaker—unwilling to put up with the mess reaching the Common room—would intercept the two of them in the hallway and drag them off to the wash racks. Sideswipe got bored and pranked anything that moved (and a few things that didn't just to be fair); Wheeljack caused something to blow up in his lab every other Tuesday. Bluestreak would talk your audios off about nothing, and Prowl took on more work than four mechs could normally accomplish.

Prowl had always been willing to listen to Bluestreak, even if he worked while he was doing so, but lately he had begun seeking the younger Praxian out. Shortly before the creation of the Aerialbots, Prowl started mentoring Streetwise. After the new fliers came online, Prowl set aside part of each week to tell stories about Cybertron, and the audience had grown to included the Dinobots, Bumblebee, Fireflight, Groove and Bluestreak. Most of the Autobots were glad that story time kept bored younglings from creating more trouble and that Prowl was taking time off from work.

Lately, however, things had been getting stranger on the Ark. Frightened for their lives, the twins hid for two days after Prowl caught Sideswipe touching Bluestreak's doorwing. After Slingshot disregarded the new airspace restrictions, all of the Aerialbots were confined to quarters for three days. Hot Shot confided to Wheeljack that Prowl had literally washed Streetwise's mouth out with cleanser for cursing in front of First Aid.

Everyone was hoping that Smokescreen could shed some light on this bizarre behavior now that he, Skyfire and Beachcomber had returned from their mission in Australia.

As the meeting drew to a close, Optimus brought up the last remaining topic in the debriefing, "Mirage, your report mentioned of potential conflict in the Decepticon hierarchy. Elaborate please."

"I overheard Drag Strip and Wildrider mention someone blackmailing a superior." Mirage looked down at the table for a moment. "Regrettably, they were approaching Soundwave, and I was unable to determine the identity of the parties being discussed, sir."

Jazz took over. "We've been trying to determine who their talking about, Prime, but there's not a lot of information to go by. The best current theory is that Screamer did something covertly against Megatron, and somebot knows it."

Prowl frowned at his datapad. "I recommend increased patrols and more intensive security." His sensory panels twitched spasmodically as he looked up and stared at the wall.

Ironhide shook his head. "Red will love that, but isn't it overkill? We don't know if it's even happening."

Prowl slammed both servos on the table. "Any change to the dynamics within the Decepticon command could radically alter their typical operations and activities. We should be cautious until we have further evidence." Standing abruptly, Prowl spun to face Optimus as he spoke. "Safety is of the foremost importance. I **will** send out the new patrol shits tonight and coordinate with Red Alert." Without further word or dismissal, Prowl turned and stomped across the room.

Jazz glanced quickly at Optimus for permission before headed towards the angry tactician. "Prowler, wait up." Ignoring his call, the SiC stormed out the door and knocked Warpath out of his way. No one said a word or moved as the TiC chased after him, muttering apologies to Warpath as he went.

Staring dumbfounded, Optimus turned and looked at Ratchet, who simply stood up. "I've already got Prowl scheduled for a system check. Either he's got a processor malfunction or his glitch is corrupted." At the disbelieving looks, he snarled, "Explain that otherwise," and gestured towards the door.

Alarms suddenly sounded throughout the base. Prowl's strange behavior was shelved as everyone rushed outside to face the Decepticons.

Although the Aerialbots had started the battle in the skies engaging the Seekers, Menasor's attempts to step on Bluestreak and Perceptor forced an early merger into Superion. Since the Aerialbots could no longer keep the Seekers busy, the twins decided to try jet judo on the Coneheads. Sideswipe jumped onto Dirge's back as planned, but Ramjet took aim and shot the twin in the right leg causing him to fall. An enraged Sunstreaker, ignoring all orders to the contrary, leaped from Thrust onto Dirge and tried to rip the Conehead's wings off.

Shortly after the fighting began, Omega Supreme had engaged Blitzwing and Octane, who where attempting to tag team the much larger guardian. Hound, Beachcomber and Trailbreaker were uncomfortably close at hand warding off the Insecticons. Prowl had been explicit; Bombshell was to be kept away from Omega.

Nearby, Soundwave was battling Blaster for control of communication lines, while Eject and Rewind fought Frenzy and Buzzsaw. Smokescreen was trying to shoot Ratbat, who had latched onto Bumblebee's back and was tearing through his plating.

Upon spotting one another, Bruticus and Defensor immediately began tossing each other across the landscape. After one particularly brutal shove, Defensor almost landed on Wheeljack, but Omega Supreme caught him by the left arm and threw him back at Bruticus. The resulting collision kept both gestalts preoccupied for a little while.

Gears and Huffer, tired of being chased by Astrotrain, dove behind some boulders to escape and found Sideswipe. Although Ironhide shooting at him diverted Astrotrain, the three Autobots wound up pinned down and exchanging fire with Reflector, Rumble and Lazerbeak.

Devastator quickly encountered the Dinobots, who seemed delighted to have the larger opponent to fight. Grimlock unsuccessfully attempted to bite Devastator. Slag got kicked across the battlefield, but he simply stood up and charged right back into the fray. Roaring loudly, the Dinobots charged straight into the larger Decepticon. Sludge and Snarl crashed into Devastator's left leg and knocked the gestalt over. The Constructicons broker apart and continued to engage the Dinobots.

Optimus and Megatron were center stage in the battle, yelling and snarling at each other as they dodged laser fire. Optimus was acting as a successful distraction as Jazz and Mirage attempted to disarm the latest superweapon. Starscream and Thundercracker set up for a strafing run, but Prowl and Cliffjumper managed to divert them with well-placed shots.

Everything changed right after an unlucky shot from Skywarp hit Prowl in the back of his right shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Cliffjumper called out for a medic. The Dinobots were the closest to Prowl's location, so Swoop broke off from attacking Mixmaster and got to him first. After carrying Prowl to the slightly sheltered area Ratchet had designated for field repairs, Swoop set out to examine him.

"I do not need a medic; the damage is not severe." Despite having been dragged off to the side, Prowl adamantly did not want to be worked on. Swoop simply pressed a knee onto Prowl's back and forced him to lay still.

That distraction taken care of, Swoop looked down at the scanner he was holding, staring at it perplexed. He smacked the apparently malfunctioning unit and scanned the pinned mech again. "Me Swoop think thing broken. Him Wheeljack need fix."

Ratchet looked up from where he was examining Windcharger's helm. An earlier impact with Wildrider had dented it and severely addled the poor minbot's processor. "What does it say, Swoop? We don't need 'Jack blowing up any more of my equipment." Even in these working conditions, Ratchet always tried to help his most junior medic.

"Scanner say him Prowl have broken spark." Swoop got up and stepped over-releasing Prowl in the process-and held the unit out for Ratchet to see.

Ratchet lunged forward, grabbed the scanner and stared at the readings. Ratchet glared over at the now crouched Prowl, "How? Who? Nevermind, I know who!" Turning sharply and starting to run off, he gestured Swoop towards Windcharger, "Look after them. Especially Prowl! Primus, why now?"

Swoop looked back at Prowl, who had already clamored to his feet and was chasing after Ratchet. Determined to keep track of both patients, Swoop picked up a not-protesting Windcharger and headed after Prowl. "Me Swoop find something important. What Me Swoop find?"

"You slaggin' glitch-spawned pit-raised spark! I'm gonna reformat you into a telephone. No, a fraggin' electric toothbrush so those two hellions can use you to clean the friggin' brig." Completely ignoring all combat around him, Ratchet hurdled a wrench across the battlefield at Jazz, striking a solid blow to the back of his helm. Yanking another wrench out of subspace, Ratchet again took aim at Jazz, who was scrambling away from the enraged medic utterly confused. "You crazy, aftheaded lunatic. How dare you? Fraggin' dangerous! Utterly moronic." Prowl charged up behind Ratchet and grappled his arm. Surprising all in the immediate vicinity, Ratchet did not attempt to hit or toss aside Prowl. Instead, he kept screaming at Jazz. "Primus help me…when I get my servos on you, I'll rip both your fraggin' legs off and use them as 'Jack's next set of crutches. Your Unicron-spawned aft is gonna be a paperweight. Swoop! I said get him out of harms way!"

By now, practically everyone was had stopped fighting as the surreal scene unfolded. Swoop thrust a thoroughly confused Windcharger into Ironhide's surprised servos. Ignoring the thrashing and movement, Swoop lunged forward, reached under the sensory panels and lifted Prowl straight into the air cradling him against his chest.

Swoop, still holding a squirming Prowl, turned to the closest mechs, who just happened to be the Dinobots and Constructicons. All of them were staring at the apparently insane medic. "Me Swoop wanna know why a broken spark make him Ratchet get so mad."

Flickering his optics, Hook glanced at Ratchet as the medic continued his previously aborted pursuit of Jazz, racing in a dizzying circle around Megatron and Optimus. "What do you mean, a broken spark? Sparks dissipate; they don't break."

"Me Swoop know that." He tossed his head impatiently. "Me Swoop tell him Ratchet that him Prowl have broken spark. Him Ratchet look at scanner and get mad. Him Ratchet chase after him Jazz saying it him Jazz's fault. Me Swoop confused."

Hook started laughing, startling Slag and Sludge. Looking up at a grumpy Prowl, he yelled, "You're sparked! Swindle! Pay up!"

Menasor and Bruticus broke apart as the Decepticon soldiers clamored around Swoop and Prowl, completely ignoring Megatron's shouting to get the crazy medic away from him.

Taking out the official datapad of bets, Swindle said, "Okay, okay. Let me get things straight so the proper mechs get paid."

"Paid?" Prowl sputtered. Swoop was attempting to keep him out of range of Decepticon servos, but the smirking soldiers didn't seem interested in hurting the smaller tactician.

"Frag yah, we've been betting on you two for vorns." Vortex drawled, amused at the look of horror on the chief tactician's face.

"Okay, Octane and Buzzsaw were the only ones to bet on the Dinobots finding out, so…"

"Don't even think about it Swindle." Drag Strip said from the back of the cluster.

"Yeah, Swoop didn't figure it out, he just pointed it out to Ratchet." Wildrider said, glaring at the Dinobot.

Grimlock pushed his way into the middle and stared threateningly down at Wildrider. "Me Grimlock say him Swoop found out. What him Swoop find?"

"That Prowl and Jazz are fragging." Astrotrain sneered.

Smokescreen, from the outside of the circle, bellowed out, "You're what?" just as Cliffjumper yelled, "What in the Pit do you mean, Jazz is fraggin' Prowl?"

Smokescreen smacked Cliffjumper on the helm. "No cursing in front of Bumblebee."

Bumblebee stared at Smokescreen in disbelief as Cliffjumper snapped back, "Then tell Ratchet to shut up."

Looking back at Ratchet—who was now chasing Jazz around a thoroughly confused Optimus and an amused Megatron—Smokescreen scoffed, "He doesn't count, and I'm not suicidal."

As the Autobots were arguing, Astrotrain's face morphed into shock when Grimlock said, "Us Dinobots know that. What new thing him Swoop find?"

"How long have you known?" Hook was genuinely curious. Most of the Decepticons had assumed that the Dinobots didn't know what interfacing was.

"Us Dinobots watch David Attenborough. Me Grimlock know him Jazz and him Prowl always courting."

"Okay, back to business, the Dinobot bets win." Swindle was not about to get into a brawl right now. Not when this many credits and that much high grade were on the line.

"It was definitely the sparkling that did it." Ramjet piped up from above. None of the Seekers wanted within range of Sunstreaker, so they were all hovering about the masses. "But that doesn't help; almost everyone bet on that."

"Me Snarl still not know what him Swoop find," grumbled the large stegosaurus.

"Me Swoop understand now. Him Prowl carrying baby spark. Us Dinobots get new Autobot to play with." Swoop pulled Prowl even closer, optics wary of the Decepticons crowded around them.

"Me Slag no want to play with sissy Autobot." 

Sludge transformed and glared at Slag. "Me Sludge wanna play with Uncle Prowl's little Autobot."

"Uncle Prowl?" Cliffjumper piped up from the back. He still wanted to shoot the Decepticons but wasn't willing to risk them attacking the tactician.

"Could we get back to the bets please? You can argue about who gets to be the little bitlet's playbuddy later. There are some questions we need answered." Scrapper was trying to redirect the conversation, since the Dinobots looked ready to come to blows over whether or not the new Autobot would be a good playmate. While it was always entertaining to watch them destroy the landscape, it was doubtful that Swoop would allow questioning of Prowl to continue while his brothers' fought in front of him.

Jazz, apparently having realized that the leaders were getting annoyed with being used as obstacles, transformed and raced by. "Sorry, mate, but he's gonna offline me if he catches me." Ratchet transformed and took off after him, sirens blaring.

"I am not answering any questions." Prowl pouted. "Swoop, put me down. That's an order."

"Like the pit you aren't, grounded," Ramjet laughed from overhead. "If you wanted a sparkling, all you had to do was ask. Any of us would have done it."

Prowl snapped, "Why would I want you? All your kind think we're good for is taking care of sparklings."

"Seriously," Thrust sneered from slightly above them, "what'd he have on you that would make you let a groundpounder frag you?"

"Nothing, wing-spawn. It was logical for me to carry a sparkling. Jazz has a much higher probability of receiving battlefield damage. Brooding had nothing to do with it." Prowl crossed his servos across his chest and sulked.

"I told you." Onslaught was leaning against a rock and sipping an energon cube. "Manipulation at its finest."

"Of course we do. That's what you do, isn't it?" Thundercracker smirked. "You latch on to as many sparklings as you can and happily take care of them."

Smokescreen moaned, a horrified look of comprehension on his face. "You really are brooding."

Dirge stared at Smokescreen in disbelief. "A bonded grounded has surrounded himself with younglings and is acting as a fraggin' nursebot. Of course he's brooding."

"I suppose you're going to kill us now to protect your sparkling." Dead End looked up at Prowl and sighed.

As Motormaster turned and started to smack Dead End, Prowl twisted and slipped out of Swoop's arms. "You do NOT hit your brother." He forced his way between Motormaster and Dead End, doorwings arched high above his shoulders. "No one bothers to teach proper manners anymore. Are you all right?" Pulling a startled Dead End away from his leader, Prowl began checking the confused Decepticon for injuries. Prowl didn't seem to care that he was still surrounded, but Grimlock and Snarl were keeping a sharp optic on him. "Come on, once Ratchet stops chasing my bondmate, we'll get you properly repaired." Prowl and the flanking Dinobots began moving through the Decepticon ranks, hustling Dead End off towards the Ark.

Swindle groaned and turned towards Starscream. "You win. He fraggin' adopted a Stunticon."

Megatron stared at Starscream in disbelief. "You knew that this would happen?" Enraged, he pointed his fusion cannon at the Seeker.

Judging by Starscream's smirk as he darted away, the looks of shock and horror on the Autobots' faces was worth it.


	3. Discoveries Lead to Revelations

Title: Discoveries lead to revelations

By Fianna9

Sequel "Your friends can discover"

Verse: G1

Rating: PG13

Prompt: Secrets

Warnings: minor Cybertronian cursing, mention of slash and interface, mpreg (in nongendered mechanical beings)

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to companies with a lot more money than I have.

Summary: Reactions and changes brought about by the previous battle's revelations.

A/N: for the prowlxjazz challenge 2014 prompt: secrets

Special thanks to MyNameIsJag for long ago letting me bounce ideas off of you. Sorry this took so long. My life went a crazy for a while and none of the cast wanted to cooperate. There is no beta, so I apologize for any errors.

grounded = seeker slang for Praxian doorwing mechs (flightless descendents of seekers)

wing-spawn = derogatory Praxian slang for seekers

* * *

><p>A short time after the revelatory battle ended in a withdrawal by both sides, two messages almost simultaneously headed off to Cybertron. One message was triple-coded, triple-checked and blipped through on a special, secret frequency; the other message was hastily downloaded on a datapad and haphazardly dumped into an energon-filled transport shuttle being sent towards the spacebridge. Neither of these communiqués received an immediate verbal or written response.<p>

* * *

><p>Overall, the Autobots handled the new information about their SiC fairly well. A few individuals had more…interesting or noteworthy responses than others.<p>

Ratchet became completely sick of playing hide-and-seek in Redwoods National Park and started randomly throwing wrenches in hopes of smacking the saboteur. Failing to locate Jazz, he did manage to frighten a number of squirrels. The attacks were thwarted by a pleasant ambush by his mate involving high grade and a large tarp turned blanket.

Wheeljack caused a mild panic when Perceptor failed to locate him after the battle. His disappearance was explained by the cheerful inventor and sated medic driving in slowly together six hours after Jazz made it back to the Ark. Wheeljack just grinned at Ratchet growled response to Jazz's cheerful call "hope you two had fun out there" as they passed him on the way to the medbay.

Optimus seemed relieved that Prowl's behavior had an explanation as well as extremely pleased about the new spark. No one but Roller saw Prime chuckling late one night after a long talk with Skyfire. The next day Prime ordered Grapple, Huffer and Hoist to turn the small storage room next to the pair's quarters into a sparkling berthroom/play area. The trio put a special lock the doorway to the hall and created a connecting door between the two rooms.

Now that he knew what was going on Jazz seemed to take his bondmate's new habits in stride and appeared delighted with all the changes. To most of the Autobots, Jazz seemed perfectly at ease and was eager to help Dead End adjust to his new environment; only Red Alert knew that the TiC had calmly promised to rip Dead End's spark out if he hurt any of his new siblings or his new caregiver. After his dominance had been established and acknowledged, Jazz went around the Ark cheerfully referred to Bluestreak and Dead End as "our young 'ons" and was often found in the Rec Room or Prowl's office fussing over his mate and the new sparkling.

Prowl didn't seem to care that his brooder protocols were now common knowledge to both sides. He continued to attempt to work long hours in his office, but he did agree to refuel and recharge on a more consistent basis. Optimus agreed to add "teaching the youngsters to become productive citizens of Cybertron" to Prowl's list of duties in exchange for some of Prowl's paperwork and lesser responsibilities being divided among the other officers so that "he could focus more of his attention upon helping Dead End feel safe and welcome in the Ark." After Ratchet suggested that sunlight would be good for his systems Prowl moved story time outside to a small outcrop near the front of the Ark.

Skyfire quickly fell into the habit of bringing extra energon to Prowl during Jazz's shifts. The large shuttle seemed eager to be of assistance to the pair and often checked on the tactician's status. He also quietly kept a watchful optic on the skies surrounding the Ark on the occasions Prowl ventured outside.

Surprising most of the Autobots, Red Alert showed that he had some past experience with brooders by not attempting to brig Dead End once he was inside the Ark. Instead, he suggested to an irritated Prowl that the confused Stunticon remain confined primarily to the Dinobots' quarters and be closely monitored when he was out for his own protection and safety.

* * *

><p>Even though he seemed to accept his new status and never really attempted to escape his confinement in the Dinobot's lair, Dead End often flinched away from the larger mechs especially when they got into arguments. After yet another minor brawl between Slag and Snarl caused Dead End to cower in a corner, Grimlock had had enough. "Why you Dead End afraid of us Dinobots?"<p>

Dead End's shoulders slumped as he glanced up at the most dangerous Dinobot. "You going to show me my place now?"

"You Dead End in your place. Daddy 'Jack say you stay with us Dinobots." Grimlock stared down at the smaller mech.

"No, when are you going to stop pretending to be pleasant and beat me up?" The other Dinobots stared over at the curiously resigned mech as he continued. "You're all tougher than me, and I know I'm not capable of stopping you."

Snarl scowled. "Us Dinobots don't hit small Autobots. Only wimpy bots beat up smaller bots."

"Motormaster beats us all the time." Dead End admitted, relaxing slightly as he looked around at the genuinely disgusted Dinobots.

"Him Motormaster a coward. Us Dinobots beat him for being a bully." Sludge said dismissingly, patting the floor. "Cousin Dead End come play game."

"Cousin?" Dead End looked up inquiringly as he picked up the controller.

"All Uncle Prowl's sparklings Dinobots' cousins: cousin Bluestreak, cousin Dead End, cousin not-named new spark." Swoop chuckled, forcing the humor to help ease the tension. Discretely, he sent a message to Smokescreen and Ratchet filling them in on the younger mech's previous situation.

Later that week, Swoop made Slag apologize for tossing their cousin aside as he charged Snarl. Since his force field had prevented any serious injury, Dead End seemed to take the that argument in stride.

* * *

><p>Smokescreen had the dubious pleasure of spending many an afternoon explaining Praxian brooder programming to some very confused Autobots, a number of which had issues coping with particular points in the explanation. Even his weekly card games were interrupted with continued questions and speculation.<p>

"So," Gears glared over at Smokescreen. "Prowl's adopting random Decepticons, bringing them to our base, letting them roam freely, and we're supposed to just accept this? He's glitched; have Ratchet fix him."

"This isn't a glitch." Smokescreen sighed as he dealt the cards to the seated mechs. "Prowl's brooding protocols have completely activated. The blatant attempt at abuse caused him to immediately take Dead End in as his adopted offspring. If we're lucky, this is the only active 'Con he'll adopt, but I won't be surprised if we see Breakdown here soon as well. That mech is a mess."

"Prowl's probably going to try to fix that menace Motormaster next." Gears grumbled as he stomped towards the door, passing Ironhide as he approached the energon dispenser. "He'll bring that behemoth in here and I know he's going to rip my poor aching arms off, and I just know Prowl will throw me in the brig for upsetting that monster."

"Doubtful." Bluestreak piped up from his chair, calling after the departing minibot. "If it was just the Dinobots maybe, I mean they can take care of themselves, but Motormaster is too aggressive and dangerous to allow near Fireflight or First Aid or Bumblebee for that matter. Let alone a new spark. That and he attacked Dead End in front of Prowl. Prowl considers him a menace and won't give him the chance to abuse anyone else. That's probably why Smokey thinks he'll adopt Breakdown. I mean, Wildrider and Dragstrip are honestly as much a problem as Motormaster, just in different ways."

"You seem to be taking this a lot better now." Groove chuckled, looking at his cards as he picked them up from the table. "Two cards, please."

"Now that I know what's going on it all makes sense and it seems silly I didn't realize it sooner. All Praxians learn about brooders, but I don't remember knowing one with active protocols until now." Bluestreak sighed. "Prowl could have just told me all this was going on. He had to know it was activating. I mean I'm happy and honored to be a big brother to his new sparkling."

"What about Dead End?" Groove laughed slightly at the faraway smile on Bluestreak's face. "You've got him to deal with as well now."

"He's really not any trouble right now, even Red Alert admits it. In fact, he spends most of his time watching tv with the Dinobots. According to Mirage the six of them are watching a Nature marathon on PBS with Hound and Trailbreaker today. Something about birds I think. One card, Smokey."

Tracks shook his head to erase the image crossing his processor. "I think I'll take three cards. We will just have to adjust to these new circumstances as they materialize. I for one believe that it will be a pleasant change not to have to worry about Menasor on the battlefield."

"What caused it all, man?" Groove cocked his head curiously towards Smokescreen. "Sparklings are cool and all, but something has to have started this running. Prowl's programming didn't just go haywire all of a sudden."

"It probably started when he adopted me after Praxus fell." Bluestreak sighed.

"That would probably have been it," Smokescreen nodded. "Fortunately you weren't a sparkling, so it would have normally only activated the protective part of the programming. Bumblebee's presence would have normally pushed it further, but Ironhide and Chromia were adamant about adopting him and they're level of protectiveness would have kept it dormant. At some point after that Jazz and Prowl apparently got heavily involved giving him a mate for the programming to latch onto. Ratchet and Wheeljack probably started the caregiver functions going when they created the Dinobots, but I bet everything went in high gear when we added ten more youngsters. Primus, I'm not surprised he triggered and got himself jumped by Jazz."

"All that aside, I don't get why Prowl was so vehemently opposed to the idea of a Seeker for a partner." Air Raid piped up from a table on the other side of the room. Skydive tried to shush him.

Bluestreak growled, optics flashing with anger. "Wing-spawn can on rare occasion be frag buddies but they don't make good mates; every Praxian knows that."

"Why not?" Air Raid snarled as he rose from his seat, looking offended. "What's wrong with Flyers?"

"Seekers only want a good time. They either abandon you when you're sparked up or dump their random sparklings on brooders and expect them to raise it." Smokescreen grumbled. Nodding apologetically towards the offended Aerialbots, he continued, "It's different with Flyers. They at least stick around to help take care of new sparks."

"So we're not wing-spawn?" Skydive asked, looking confused as he tugged Air Raid back into his seat.

"We'd never call you that." Smokescreen tipped his helm apologetically to the two Flyers. "Only Seekers deserve to be called that."

"So, are you two going crazy on us too?" Groove looked at Bluestreak and Smokescreen speculatively. "Are you going to be jumping and getting jumped by mechs and making more sparks."

Smokescreen shook his helm. "Thank Primus, neither of us have brooder protocols; that was the first thing First Aid checked when we got back. We only have to worry about Prowl acting like this."

"So why did you get ticked at Cliffy for cursing? It's not like the scrapper hasn't done it before." Air Raid looked over at Smokescreen, curious.

"Because Prowl would have washed Jumper's mouth out with cleanser, right?" Groove laughed lightly.

"And mine for not stopping him." Smokescreen admitted somewhat reluctantly, glancing at the three cards he'd drawn from the pile.

Powerglide looked amused as he finally finished sorting his cards. "So, we only have to deal with one crazy Praxian, and we can once again blame Ratchet and Wheeljack for this mess."

"Hey!" Skydive protested. "Why is it their fault?"

"They're the ones that sparked up both times and created the Dinobots." Powerglide continued, waving a servo at Groove and the Aerialbots. "Then they gave us you lot. With that many new mechs no wonder Prowl's programming went crazy. Oh, give me a card."

"Maybe, but there may be more to the situation. You seem to know something we don't, Ironhide." Tracks looked over at the grinning mech leaning against the wall, apparently enjoying the conversation.

Ironhide just laughed and shook his helm. "I know it's not all their fault. Who do ya think was Bee's primary sitter as a sparkling back in Iacon? Chromia and I knew Prowl's office was the safest place for the little tyke, and he turned out to be the most competent sparksitter we could find." With a grin Ironhide continued. "Frag mechs, this has been primed to happen since Cybertron."

* * *

><p>The Deceptions had their own varied reactions to Prowl's newly discovered status.<p>

Megatron seemed torn between amusement over the Autobot's tactician having new distractions and severe anger over losing access to one of his gestalts. His rantings filled the Nemesis, and he shot several new holes in walls aiming at Starscream. Megatron also spent a great deal of time watching all of the Seekers intently.

Motormaster yelled for ages at the remaining Stunticons and during one outburst put Wildrider halfway into a wall. Later, he had a long discussion with Astrotrain and Blitzwing trying to get them to help drag "that traitorous backstabber" back to the Nemesis and "teach him a lesson in pain he'll never forget". His mood was not improved when Onslaught took the opportunity to mock him for losing his gestalt mate in such a pathetic way.

Having proved his superior knowledge of his Autobot counterpart to the lowly masses, Starscream agreed to share his newly won high grade with his trinemates. The three mocked the Autobots' shock over the two officers' relationship and idly speculated on the chaos soon to overwhelm the Ark. Later Starscream neglected to mention Skywarp's extracurricular activities to Megatron and hinted a suggestion to Thundercracker about a private wager to place with Swindle.

Dirge, Thrust and Ramjet spent several hours locked in their quarters. So did Vortex, Blast Off and Brawl. No one really wanted to find out what they were up to.

Ever the entrepreneur, Swindle started taking bets on Prowl's due date and whether or not it would happen in the middle of a battle. After Blackout reminded him that the Dinobots had been a trio and a duo respectively courtesy of Wheeljack and Ratchet, the number of sparklings and respective genders were added into the betting pool.

There was one unanticipated outcome of the battle that was enjoyed by every Decepticon when it was discovered.

* * *

><p>Scavenger stomped into the unusually quiet rec room. Glancing around, he spotted Soundwave sitting in a corner reading a datapad while Ravage laying contently at his pedes. "Soundwave, where are Ratbat and your twin pit-spawns hiding?"<p>

Soundwave didn't even look up from his datapad. "Autobot Prowl sparksitting."

* * *

><p>Dead End sighed as he trailed after Slag and Snarl down the path towards the outdoor story area. Stepping around his larger cousins (who was he to argue with them?), his optics flickered as he took in the sight of Ratbat clinging to Groove's shoulderplates while Rumble and Frenzy sat reluctantly on the ground in front of Grimlock waiting for the continuation of the tale of <em>Turnover and the Six Windrunners<em>. "Soundwave always could have used more help with those three."

"Calm down, Red. At least now we know where the little menaces are during story time."


	4. Revelations have fallout

Title: Revelations have fallout

By Fianna9

Sequel "Discoveries lead to revelations"

Verse: G1

Rating: PG13

Warnings: minor Cybertronian cursing, mention of slash and interface, mpreg (in nongendered mechanical beings)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the universe.

Summary: Everyone was waiting for the other bolt to drop. The cascade has begun.

A/N: Well, this took longer than I expected. None of the characters wanted to cooperate.

Slang:

grounded = seeker slang for Praxian doorwing mechs (flightless descendents of seekers)

wing-spawn = derogatory Praxian slang for seekers

Formatting:

_italics_ = internal thoughts

**bold** = external comm

* * *

><p>Lancer crouched within the burned-out ruins of the old shop, watching as a small flight of Seekers zoomed overhead towards Shockwave's tower. After the patrol passed, Greenlight joined the orange femme in the shell. It's cover had served them well recently as they monitored the activity around Shockwave's fortress. The Seekers had increased activity all across Cybertron, and the femmes were observing in hopes of figuring out what this new activity meant for the Autobot forces.<p>

Both were aware of a recent communiqué from Earth, but the information in the message was still secret from them. They did know that the commanders were rumored to have exhibited strange behaviors shortly after decoding it. They knew Elita One seemed both concerned and perplexed by the missive, but Chromia broke out in chuckles every time anyone mentioned the message. Strangest of all, Ultra Magnus was rumored to have burst out laughing after he received it. Secretly, both femmes hoped to be included in the joke; they could use a good laugh after spending so long fighting.

* * *

><p>Jazz hummed lightly as he headed down the corridor for home, tossing a friendly wave to Beachcomber as he strolled by clutching a large cluster of red and pink crystals to his chestplate. Having just finished his nightly check-in on Bluestreak and Dead End, Jazz was looking forward to spending some time alone with his mate. For once Prowl had actually left his office on time. With a nod to the camera and a cheerful goodnight to Red Alert, he stepped into their quarters.<p>

Jazz paused as the door closed behind him, the lack of light and sound erasing the smile from his face. Even in the darkness he could see Prowl lying facing the wall, one sensory panel hanging over the edge of the berth. Quietly, he walked over to sit on the far side of the berth facing Prowl. **Processor crash, love?**

"No." Prowl spoke quietly, optics still offline as he reached for Jazz's arm. "The current situation requires some final adjustments to my plans, and a few of the variables still in play have my processor and programming in flux."

"Maybe I can help?" Jazz relaxed, much less concerned now that he knew Prowl hadn't crashed. "Dead End still a problem for ya?"

Prowl flicked a sensory wing lightly at him. "I have no issue with your promise to Dead End, Jazz. Your methods have helped him recognize his place here and are a milder form of the discipline he is used to receiving giving him some consistency in his existence. I accept that he requires a more aggressive form of handling compared to most younglings at his stage of development."

With a rueful grin, Jazz chuckled lightly. "Knew that wouldn't get past ya, mech. You got the rest of the Stunties figured out now?"

"I have determined acceptable caregivers for the other four Stunticons. With proper, timely assistance they should be salvageable as troubled but still productive Cybertronians." Prowl shifted slightly towards Jazz, frowning as he spoke. "Their group dynamic is extremely dysfunctional and damaging. They will do better in separate, structured environments with carefully monitored contact as they heal and repair their gestalt bond. Unfortunately, one of the critical potential caregivers is not currently available."

"And the longer they stay with the Decepticons the worse they get." Jazz concluded. "So is this particular caregiver for a one in particular?"

"Motormaster…yes even Motormaster needs a caregiver, Jazz, stop frowning like that. Megatron either doesn't care or has forgotten that Vector Sigma mechs still need guidance to develop properly. It has become obvious that the Stunticons have suffered because of his negligence." Prowl's engine growled unhappily. "For all his faults Starscream managed to keep the Combaticons mostly stable as they developed their nontraditional gestalt bond."

"He lucked out with Onslaught being able to corral the others without resorting to Motor's methods, even if Vortex is a psychotic glitch. So, are you still worried about the sparkling?" Jazz reached over and gently rubbed Prowl's neck cable.

"Worried, no, however I would appreciate your input in regards to our offspring's extraction status and development." Prowl shifted to allow Jazz better access to the tensest spots. "We must finalize our decision soon due to Wheeljack and Hoist needing direction on the new frame specifications. I have been formulating lists of advantages and ramifications to each method for discussion with you."

"Let's hear it.' Jazz pulled most of his attention away from his mate's frame to focus on their offspring.

"My tactical processor's analysis is that the new spark will be more useful and have a higher survival prospect if we extract directly into an adult frame with full preprogrammed functionality as was done with the Dinobots. Gestalts have proven successful coming from this method via Vector Sigma." Prowl paused for a moment. "However most gestalts are renewed sparks using their gestalt connection as a foundation for their finalized development. The Dinobots are successes in regards to survival, but they demonstrate some of the quirks that can develop for new sparks extracted in this manner. Your thoughts?"

Jazz continued rubbing the strained cable as he mulled over this option. "I don't think we should go full adult, love. The Dinos were special cases, and ya know Hatchet and 'Jack agonized over doing that to them. The first three had almost no chance of surviving any other way; we both know what kind of shape the army was really in then. At least the second time around everyone knew what we were doing wouldn't mess 'em up too badly even if it limited their abilities. If we don't need to do it to any other sparklings, we shouldn't."

"Agreed, although I do not believe they are quite as limited as we initially assumed. As a brooder I would prefer to start this new life as a sparkling and let it grow into its own desired framework as you and I did. Statistically this is the method least likely to cause critical personality problems in individuals, but the survival rate for sparklings in a warzone is depressingly decreased."

Jazz thought about it for a moment. "We've got a lot more troops now, and the little bit should be safe. Maybe we should compromise and do a half-frame. It'd still get to grow but it wouldn't be as underfoot or vulnerable."

Prowl onlined his optics. "I am pleased that we are in agreement on a frame. I will begin discussion with the medical team regarding frame construction."

"Pity we won't get to use all the sparkling stuff the mechs 've been making." Jazz sighed, glancing wistfully at the new door in their room.

"It is unlikely their efforts will go to waste. In addition to our offspring's needed frame, we will need to begin leaving a few smaller frames where the Decepticons can discover them." Prowl reached over and lightly stroked Jazz's leg. "The wingspawn will start breeding in earnest now that they know they have a brooder to take care of their offspring. Megatron will be more likely to see sparklings as liabilities and be willing to get rid of them by depositing them with us. I would prefer he did not start viewing half-frame younglings as soldiers for his army. It will also be easier on Ratchet if the new sparks start out in decent frames."

"Right then, we tell 'Jack to make a lot of frames of different sizes so everyone's got a choice. Skyfire might wanna spark up too and that'd be a mega-size sparkling. You know Hound would take a little bitlet in a sparkbeat wings or not; he loves this planet and wants to share it. Pit, he's probably gonna spark up himself given half the chance." Jazz snickered at Prowl's glare. "Sorry, thought the 'no cursing' rule was only around the extracted young on's."

"Since the situation with this sparkling is resolved, I propose we practice creating another one." Engine growling, Prowl reached up and pulled a very willing Jazz down next to him.

* * *

><p>"Happy Christmas grounded!" Skywarp shouted as he leaped out from behind a hill.<p>

"It's May, you cross-wired ninny." Smokescreen dove behind a tree, cursing as the teleporter popped out of sensory range. After a moment, another pop sounded from behind the hill. He could now detect at least three unidentified potentially hostile units in the area as well as the crazy Seeker. **Skyfire, what's your eta?**

**Arriving with back up in ten minutes. You're status?**

**Currently uninjured but outnumbered.**

"Then, Merry Brooder's Day!" Skywarp cried merrily as he took off into the sky.

Straining his sensors, Smokescreen could hear muffled, unintelligible sounds and faint scrapes of metal. After no hostile incoming fire started, he pondered the crazy seeker's parting words. Carefully, he edged around the tree and made his way towards the signatures, blaster out and ready. Still only hearing faint sounds, he edged around the hill towards the noises.

Looking around, he couldn't help but stare at the three figures on the ground in front of him. Wildrider was struggling furiously trying to break free from stasis cuffs and thick black cabling wrapped around his limbs. Smokescreen had to admit the bow on his shoulder was a nice but sloppy touch. A gray metal plate welded on his mouth had "to fowl mouthed for little audios" scrawled across it in glaring purple paint.

Huddled a little ways away from the Stunticon were two smaller forms. The half-sized, dull green mech was shielding the other with his slightly larger frame. Almost the size of a minibot, he was clearly the oldest. A slightly smaller white, red and pink femme kept peering out from behind his shoulders, keeping a close optic on both of the adults. After a few moments searching for the remaining spark signal he realized the red on the femme was a tiny sparkling latched firmly onto her chestplate. Smokescreen put his blaster away and carefully raised his arms, keeping a firm optic on Wildrider while he scanned the youngsters to check on their general condition.

**Tell the others no weapons out. The wing-spawn have started bring us gifts. **Looking at the almost-rusting patchwork armor on the two younglings, he sighed. _Prowl and Ratchet are going to blow gaskets over this._

* * *

><p>Disregarding the hesitant enthusiasm slipping through the gestalt bond, Blades rose to object but was cut off as Windcharger yelped at Prowl in disbelief. "What do you mean, Brawn and I have a new assignment?"<p> 


End file.
